Retarded Interaction Energies between Like Atoms in Different Energy States

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Abstract
The long‐range interaction energy between two like atoms in different energy states is discussed in general, through O (α 2 ) , using the Breit‐Pauli approximation. Selection rules are derived for possible interactions where retardation or relativistic effects may be important. The S‐P resonant interaction is considered as a specific example. The interaction energies for the resulting Σ and Π molecular states are calculated in both the Breit‐Pauli approximation and from the exact dipole‐dipole results of McLone and Power, Stephen and others. The R −1 expansion of the exact result and the validity of the Breit‐Pauli approximation are discussed in detail. The interaction energies are also compared with the linewidths for the various molecular states. It is shown that the Breit‐Pauli approximation can give a good representation (especially for the Σ states) of the interaction for quite large values of R <̃ λ, where λ is the characteristic wavelength for the S‐P transition.

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